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Honey Processing (Practical Action Technical Brief)
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== Processing == === Cut-comb honey === The simplest processing is to remove the honeycomb from frame hives, top-bar hives or traditional hives and sell or consume it as 'cut-comb' honey. When producing this from frame hives it is necessary to use a wax foundation that does not contain strengthening wires and is thinner than that normally used in wired frames. The process involves collecting pieces of sealed and undamaged honeycomb, cutting them into uniform sized pieces and packaging them carefully in bags or cartons to avoid damaging the honeycomb. Because the honeycomb is unopened, it is readily seen to be pure, and it has a finer flavour than honey that is exposed to air or processed further. Cut-comb honey can therefore have a high local demand and fetch a higher price than processed honey. However, the honeycomb is easily damaged by handling and transport, which makes distribution for retail sale more difficult. It requires protection by packaging materials that will absorb shocks or vibration (e.g. cushioning plastics such as 'bubble-wrap' and/or corrugated cardboard cartons) and packs should be carried carefully and not stacked, thrown or dropped to avoid damage to the honeycombs. === Strained honey === This is honey that is processed to a minimal extent and is usually sold locally. It is prepared by removing the wax cappings of the honeycomb using a long sharp knife that has been heated by standing it in warm water. (unsealed combs containing unripe honey should not be used). The honeycombs are then broken into pieces and the honey is strained to remove wax and other debris. A fairly coarse strainer is used at first to remove large particles, and the honey is then strained through successively finer strainers such as cotton or muslin cloths. The clear honey is collected in a clean, dry container. When most of the honey has drained (often over many hours depending on the temperature) the combs are squeezed inside a cloth bag to remove as much of the remaining honey as possible. The wax is collected and formed into a block by melting it gently in a warm waterbath or solar wax extractor. This beeswax byproduct often has a high value as a wax polish or for candle-making. The strained honey can either be dispensed from the collection pan into customers' own containers or packed into glass jars or plastic bags for sale. === Packaged honey === The wax cappings are removed from the honeycombs as for strained honey. At larger scales of production, electrically heated honey knives or 'planes' may be used (Fig.1). [[File:honey electric uncapping plane.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Fig.1 Electric uncapping plane (Photo courtesy of Maxant Honey Processing Equipment)]] When extracting honey from top-bar frames, the frame is placed over a dish, and the thin layer of wax capping is cut from the bottom to the top of the frame and allowed to fall into the dish below. The frame is then turned and the capping on the other side is removed. Honey that is stuck to the wax cappings is strained using cloth bags as above. The frame is then placed in a honey extractor (Fig. 2). Honey extractors can be manually or electrically operated, depending on the scale of production, and can be either 'tangential' or 'radial' type machines. They extract the honey by spinning the frames at high speed. In a tangential machine, the frames lie against the barrel of a drum and the outer side of the frame empties when the drum is spinning. The frames are then turned so that the other face of the honeycomb faces outwards, and the machine spun until this side is empty. This prevents the inner part from bursting through the empty outer combs and so prevents the combs from breaking. Although each frame has to be handled four times to load, turn and unload them, more complete extraction can be achieved and this design is more compact and cheaper than radial types. In a radial machine, the frames sit between rings, arranged like the spokes of a wheel and honey is extracted from both sides simultaneously. Radial machines are larger then tangential machines to ensure that the frames are far enough from the centre to extract properly, but they can hold more frames than a tangential machine (e.g. a 20-frame radial extractor compared to an 8-frame tangential machine). [[File:honey honey extractor.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Fig. 2. Nine-frame electric honey extractor (Photo courtesy of Maxant Honey Processing Equipment)]] The honey is collected in a pan, preferably made from food grade plastic or stainless steel, and filtered through a nylon or stainless steel filter unit that has progressively finer filters as the honey moves to the outside of the filter unit. Some filters are fitted with heaters to make the honey flow faster, but these are not necessary in tropical climates and any increase in temperature risks a reduction in the quality of the honey (see below). The clear honey is then collected and packaged into glass or plastic containers and labelled. The package should be moistureproof to prevent the honey picking up moisture from the air during storage. [[File:honey tanks.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Fig. 3. Honey tanks with filters(Photo courtesy of Camelot Country Products)]] Because customers regard the colour of honey as an important quality characteristic, the containers should preferably be transparent so that customers can see the product. Glass jars with screw-on lids or plastic pots with heat-sealed foil or plastic lids may be used. In countries where glass or plastic containers are difficult to obtain, heat-sealed plastic sachets are an alternative. The label on the container is important for attracting customers and a professionally designed label that describes the source of the honey (e.g. sunflower, mixed blossom, tree honey etc.), its purity, and the district it was produced in, can give a marketing advantage. Legally, in most countries the label should have the following information: * The name of the product (i.e. pure honey) * The name and address of the producer. * The weight of honey in the container (the net weight). Other information may be included to benefit the customer: for example, the label on comb honey may indicate that the whole comb including the wax is edible, or strained honey may have a note to explain granulation (see below).
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